GT coach hails Hardik Pandya for performing with great maturity and understanding in IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans (GT), one of the two debutant sides in the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, have impressed everyone with their consistent team performance in the ongoing tournament. Titans presently sit atop the points table with five wins under their belt in six outings in the IPL 2022.
Unfit Hardik Pandya was made the skipper of Gujarat Titans, which certainly attracted heavy criticism for the franchise, however, the cricketer has been giving befitting replies to all those who mocked him during his recovery period.
Heaping praises on skipper Hardik Pandya, GT batting coach Gary Kirsten reckons that the cricketer has absolute clarity in the different roles he is playing for Gujarat.
Kirsten, who led team India to the 2011 ODI World Cup win under MS Dhoni, also lauded the all-rounder for his understanding and skills to play the game.
“We’ve had a number of conversations, but, you know, the coaching conversations are mostly not about me giving him directions. It is more about me helping him understand what he wants to achieve with his batting. He has got some good clarity in that space. He realised that he’s going to play a very different role in this team as a batsman, compared to what he has done in his previous franchise,” Kirsten told the Indian Express.
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Hardik isn’t one-dimensional player:
Notably, Hardik had a very different role when he was with Mumbai Indians, prior to 2022. The all-rounder was extensively used as a death ball-striker to finish the game with his muscle power, however, now in Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik has been donning different hats for different situations.
The Baroda batter has come to bat when Gujarat require a solid partnership to rebuild the innings after two quick dismissals. He has also finished the game with his clean striking following a formidable score from the top order batters.
Kirsten says Hardik isn’t a one-dimensional player and that’s a very dangerous fact about him. He can rotate the strike very effectively and can hit the ball out of the park as well.
“He has absolutely thrived in that new role. I mean, he’s class. He’s a fantastic batter, he can play in a lot of different ways. He’s not one dimensional in his ball striking. He can rotate the strike and he can get the ball to the boundary. Those kinds of batters are very dangerous. They can do different things on a field. I think he’s played with great maturity and he has handled the pressure situations really well when he walked into bat with two down quickly. So, I have been nothing but impressed with that journey,” Kirsten added.
In the Tata IPL 2022 so far, Hardik Pandya has scored 228 runs from five matches at an impressive strike rate of 136.52. Moreover, the all-rounder has picked four wickets.
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